Propulsion of air and other gases or fluids



HfA YRTON. PROPULSION OF AIR AND OTHER GASES OR FLUIDS.-

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26, 1916. I

Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

H. AYRTON.

PROPULSION OF AIR AND OTHER GASES 0R FLUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26. I916.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H. AYRTON. PROPULSION OFIAIR AND OTHER GASES 0R FLUIDS- APPLICATION FILED MAY 2 I916- 1,327,'975. Patented Jan.13,1920.

3- SHEETS-SHEET 3.

HERTHA AYRTON, OIE HYDE PARK, LONDON, ENGLAND.

PROPULSION OF AIR AND OTHER GASES OB FLUIDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

Application filed May 26-, 1916. Serial No. 100,010.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERTHA AxnToN, residing at 41 Norfolk Square, Hyde Park, in the county of London, England, subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements Relating to the Propulsion of Air and other Gases or Fluids, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the propulsion of air and other gases or fluids and has for its object to enable large volumes of air and other gases or fluids to be moved in a given direction.

In a paper which I read before the Royal Society on the 6th May, 1915, and which will be found in their Proceedings for that year, I demonstrated, somewhat contrary to the accepted theory, that certain special local currents were set up by the presence of an obstacle in oscillating water.

Such local currents could of course be set up by making the obstacle oscillate instead of the water, and this led me to think that by oscillating an obstacle in air at any desired spot it might be possible to create local currents of fresh air, which would keep any foul or objectionable air or gases from reaching the point of operation. Further, a continuance of the action will drive the foul air away. 4

I find that by imparting quite small impulses to the air at a given spot, it is possible to set large masses of air in motion at some distance from that spot. The impulses may be given by. means of a small blade, fan or similar movable body beating against the ground or some surface preferably flat.

As a laboratoryexperiment I have used a rectangular blade 1?; inche'sxll inches divided in three inches with two hinges which gave excellent results.

I find moreover that the above effects take place even when the natural movement of the air is toward the operator.

The blademay be mounted on a suitable handle and may be adapted to have an angular movement in relation thereto for a determined distance. The blade may be operated manually or by mechanical means, the base against which it operates being suitably selected or arranged. I

In a modification of the inven 1011 the operator may carry the device forward driving the noxious fumes or air away in front of him, and in this case the appliance should be used with the blade reversed. The fan is so constructed that in order to beat with it on the ground it has to be turned over, so that the stick is under the fixed section (b Figure 1) to which it is attached, instead of being above it, as it has to be in beating on a raised surface such as a parapet. This is What is meant by the use of the device with the blade reversed. In the late war, it was used in this way, the men advancing a step at each stroke, to clear trenches of poison gas.

I have described my invention in relation to air charged with noxious fumes, yet my invention is applicable for many other uses where it is required to move large volumes of air of dust or fumes.

The accompanying drawings show one way of carrying out my invention,

Fig. 1 is a plan of the fan device.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan showing the device folded Fig. 1 is an inverted plan of Fig. 3.

Figs. 5 and 6 are diagrams showing the operation of the device in a trench.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the opera-y tion of the device on the ground by a person standing thereon.

Referring to Fig. 1 the fan device here shown consists of a handle-a, to which is fitted a flexible or semi-flexible blade Z). divided into four sections 6 6 6 6 hinged together by means of the flexible material of which the blade is made the rigid parts be ing of the same material stifiened by inserted bars 0 of cane wood or the like. is attached to the handle so as to limit the relative angular movement of the said sections and so that the sections 72 V 5 b when raised in one direction by the handle are practically in alinement.

In the attachment illustrated the end of the handle is rigidly fixed to the section '6 and is passed througha loop 03 attached to section 6 a projecting piece f is attached to b and extends across the hinge and part way over I). 1

Figs. 3 and 4 show how the blade of the fan is folded up and attached to the handle. This arrangement. of folding is shown by way of example but the device need not fold The .blade' or may be folded up in any other convenient Way.

When putting my invention into operation I may proceed as follows lVhen used manually on a parapet or the like see diagram Figs. 5 and 6 the handle is firmly gripped and the blade is raised above the level of the head and as far back as pos- I keep any of the expressed air from com-' ing toward the operator, see point No. 5 Fig. 5. The fan sections 3 and l then come down on the surface of the parapet and expel the air with great velocity in the desired direction away from the operator.

Fig. 6 shows the operations in the rising stroke of the fan.

Given the same amplitude the more strokes per minute the better. In order to increase the rate per minute two men may be employed side by side close together fanning alternately. By this means there is obtained practically double the rate with the same amplitude.

A single stroke with a fan such as illustrated with a blade 2 x 1 1; when properly operated will send a puff to a distance of about 20 feet over a width of at least 20 feet.

A succession of about five strokes will move the air adistance of at least feet, a height of over 10 feet and a width of 30 feet.

For expelling stagnant air lying near the ground the fan may be reversed, see Fig. 7, and beaten on the ground, or it may be beaten against a wall. The particular method of using the fan will depend upon local conditions.

Fig. 7 shows diagrammatically the opera.- tion of beating the fan on the ground by a person standing thereon.

. Upon the fan strikingthe parapet of a trench, an impulse 1S given to the air and each impulse produces a vortex rotating so that its upper surface moves toward the sourceof energy, while as a. whole it is violently impelled away from that source, the

fresh: vortex moving freely with diminishing velocity through the surrounding-air, the second and subsequent vortices traveling toward and becoming involved in' the first so that finally aolarge vortex is formed capable of-clearing' from before it all air and gases whichcome in its way. A fan 15 wide produces a vortex whichextends laterally about 6 yards on each side of the operator and which. travels forward for a distance of 60 yards ormore depending on the energy expended;

hat I claim and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is '1. A method of propelling fluids to a relatively considerable distance consisting in the production of successive blasts by the beating action of a fan against a surface, the beating action being characterized in that the portion of the fan next to the handle is caused to strike the surface first,.th-is.pre7

. liminary impact being followed by a rapid beating movement of the remaining portion of the fan against the surface, the effect being that each blast forms a vortex, the upper surface of which revolves in a direc tion toward the source of propagation, the blasts being timed so that the vortex pro duced by one blast may overtake and merge with another at a distance from the source of propagation, the combined vortices forming one vortex of great force moving in the line of propagation. f

- 2. A method of propelling fluids to a: relatively considerable distance consisting in the production of successive blasts by the beating action against a surface of a jointed fan of suitable construction capable of adapting itself to the shape of the surface against which it isstruck, the beating action being characterized in that the portion of the fan next to the handle is caused to strike the surface first, this preliminary impact being followed by a rapid beating movement of the remaining portion of the fan against the surface, the effect being that each blast forms a vortex the upper surface of which revolves in a direction toward the source of propagation while the whole vortex moves rapidly away from that source, the blast being timed so that the vortex produced by one blast may overtake and merge with another at a distance from the source of propagation, the combined vortices forming one vortex of great force moving in the line of propagation. v l

3. A device for propelling fluids. to a relatively considerable distance comprising a handle, a blade of light flexible material constructed ina plurality of sections, flexibly connected transversely of the handle, means for stiffening eachv said sectlonpmeans for fixing one of" the said" sectionsjtransv. versely tothe said handle, means-for permit ting the next sectionto flex'itora limitedie'xtent about theedgeof the-fixed section, each ofv the other sections being adaptedto flex freely about th next to it towardthe handle.

4. A-device for propelling fluids to arelatively considerable distance, comprising a system of at least twoblad'es' of light flexi.-- ble material, means for stiffening said blades, a handle, means for fixing one fof the said blades transverselyv to thesaid handle,

meansfor jointing any two consecutive said e edge of .the adjacent-section any suitable surface against which it is struck.

5. A device for propelling flu-ids to a relatively considerable distance, comprising a system of at least two blades of light flexible material, means for stifiening said blades,

a handle, means for fixing one of the said blades transversely to the said handle, means for jointing any two consecutive said blades at their common longitudinal edges, means for permitting each of the non-fixed blades to take a mechanically free movement of rotation about the longitudinal edge of the adjoining blade, the axis of rotation being in the plane of the said blade and perpendicular to the direction of the handle, means for limiting the free angular rotation of the movable blades to a suitable range on one side of the plane of the blade fixed to the handle, the said system of blades, when in use, being alternatively either spread almost in one plane or adapting itself to the outline of any suitable surface against which it is struck.

6. A device for propelling fluids to a relatively considerable distance, comprising a system of at least two blades of light flexible material, means for stiffening said blades, a handle, means for fixing one of the said blades transversely to the said handle, means for jointing any two consecutive said blades at their common longitudinal edges, means for permitting each of the non-fixed blades to take mechanically free movement of rotation about the longitudinal edge of the adjoining blade, the axis of rotatlon being in the plane of the said blade and perpendicular to the direction of the handle, means for limiting the free angular rotation of the movable intermediate blades to a suitable range on one side .of the plane of the blade fixed to the handle, means for limiting the free angular rotation of the outer blade farthest from the handle to approximately 90 beyond the range of rotation of the intermediate movable blades, on the other side of the plane of the blade fixed to the handle, the said system of blades, when in use, being alternatively either spread almost in one plane or adapting itself to the outline of any suitable surface against which it is struck.

7. A device for moving large volumes of air in a given direction comprising a blade and handle therefor the blade being mounted on one end of the handle and consisting of sections hinged together, the hinges running transversely of the line of the handle whereby the sections ofv the blade may bend at angles to the handle.

'8. A device for moving large volumes of air in a given direction comprising a blade and handle therefor, the blade being mounted on one end of the handle and consisting of sections hinged together, the hinges running transversely of the line of the handle whereby the sections ofthe blade may bend at angles to the handle and whereby the sections may fold back one into the other to render the device more convenient for transport and means for securing the folded parts in position.

9. A device for moving large volumes of air in a given direction, comprising a blade and handle therefor, the blade being mounted on one end of the handle and consisting of sections hinged together, the hinges running transversely of the line of the handle whereby the sections of the blade may bend at angles to the handle, and flexible flaps disposed along the side edges of the blade.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

- HERTHA AYRT'ON. Witnesses:

HENRY AILEN PRYoR,

Amen BEESLEY CAMPBELL. 

